Sky’s the limit for teen court volunteer

Published 6:44 pm, Saturday, July 27, 2013

Patrick Whelan, board president for Teen Court, has mentored Luis Gomez since he came through the program in the seventh grade.. Tim Fischer\Reporter-Telegram

Patrick Whelan, board president for Teen Court, has mentored Luis Gomez since he came through the program in the seventh grade.. Tim Fischer\Reporter-Telegram

Photo: Tim Fischer

Sky’s the limit for teen court volunteer

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When Luis Gomez started volunteering with Midland Teen Court as a seventh-grader, his purpose was clear.

He wanted to earn enough community service hours to qualify for Midland ISD’s seventh-grade field trip to the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum in Austin. He’d never traveled beyond West Texas and was determined to visit somewhere new.

When he stepped into the courtroom as a juror for the first time in seventh grade, Gomez didn’t know that volunteering with Teen Court would remain a top priority throughout junior high and high school, prompt him to fall in love with the judicial process or provide him with professional mentors to help discern his future career path.

Serving as a teen attorney the last four years, Gomez had the opportunity to work in leadership roles alongside adults who serve as board members for Midland Teen Court.

Last year, Midland Teen Court President Patrick Whelan took interest in Gomez’s future plans and invited the Early College High School @ Midland College senior to regular lunches to discuss college and career plans.

Initial conversations centered around Gomez’s plan to earn a political science degree and attend law school, but the conversation turned one day when Whelan questioned Gomez’s aptitude in math and science and asked if he’d ever considered working in the oil industry.

“He’s a natural born leader and is quick on his feet. While he’d be a good lawyer, the oil industry also needs natural leaders, especially those that are bilingual and hard workers, like Luis,” said Whelan, a geophysicist who believes working with teenagers through Teen Court is one way he can serve the community.

Gomez had considered a career in the petroleum industry --- he even attended the Texas Pre-freshman Engineering Program, known as Tex PREP, at UT Permian Basin three summers --- but feared a bust.

“Past collapses of the oil industry had worried me and made me feel like it wasn’t a stable career so I was leery at first,” said Gomez, who eventually changed his mind about the petroleum industry’s long-term viability after additional conversations with Whelan and his own research.

“I’ve been in the oil industry for over 30 years and am aware of the use by the population of the world. Oil is not going away. It is needed for the future,” Whelan said. “As long as prices hold up, there will be a lot of employment opportunities everywhere.”

Though he absolutely loves debate, politics and the law, Gomez said can’t ignore the fact that it would be less expensive to earn a petroleum engineering degree than a law degree and finding an engineering job might be easier.

“I’ll graduate with a bachelor’s in petroleum engineering at 20 or 21 (years old) and be able to make pretty good wages right away,” said Gomez, who has aspired to help support his mother since his father’s death in December 2011.

Knowing Gomez’s background --- his parents don’t speak English, no one in his family attended college and though his dad “busted his butt” to provide for the family, they are still economically disadvantaged --- Whelan said he wanted to expose Gomez with as many career paths and options as possible.

“My concern was law degrees are not cheap and for somebody like Luis, who would’ve had to borrow money, he’d never be able to pay it back,” Whelan said.

At age 17, Gomez has already earned a high school diploma and associates degree from Midland College and will start classes at Texas Tech this fall, thanks to scholarships, grants and loans.

Though engineering is the course of study for Gomez right now, other adults who know Gomez well say they won’t be surprised if he ultimately decides to pursue a career in law.

“I don’t doubt that whatever Luis pursues, he will be successful. If he brings the same work ethic and enthusiasm to the plate, he’ll be successful in everything he does,” said County Courts at Law Judge Kyle Peeler said. “The oil industry might be a great occupation, but he has some real natural abilities to pursue litigation and be a great litigator. He already has some traits some young lawyers coming out of law school have to work a year to get.

“A lot of young men go to college with one thing in mind and after a year or two, they change their mind. He has the initial ingredients for a great attorney,” Peeler said.

Former ECHS principal Jeanette McNeely watched Gomez blossom during high school and said she was surprised when he decided to change paths and purse an engineering degree.

“I think he’s a natural for law and the courtroom. He has such a presence and the ability to debate,” said

Though law school isn’t part of the current five-year plan, Gomez said it’s still a possibility.

Regardless of which career path he chooses, Gomez knows he wants to return to Midland start a nonprofit that helps Hispanic teenagers from his background.

“Looking back at elementary and junior high, a lot of the kids that didn’t make it, it was just because they didn’t have a support group. Their parents were in and out of jail or their parents didn’t care about them. I want to provide the support and motivation for those kids,” said Gomez, who grew up feeling as if the cards were stacked against him.

“I’ve always vowed to myself, I’m going to break the chair our family has. I’m going to graduate and break from the yolks of bondage Hispanics have, most of which are mental,” said Gomez, who believes the only difference between he and his peers are the goals he set for himself.

Though his immediate family has always supported him and “there was never a question of if I’m going to college, just a question of where I’m going to get the money,” Gomez said family friends and extended family members haven’t been as supportive.

“When I went to conferences in Chicago and North Carolina in the past and now, getting ready for college, they’ll just look at me like ‘Why would you want to do that?’ These people are my family, but they don’t see the value in making a better life,” Gomez said.

Feeling that many Hispanics devalue education and don’t support their children’s academic pursuits, Gomez said he wants to run a nonprofit that supports and motivates kids to complete their education.

“Kids told me they didn’t have to try in school because their mom said they’d be dropping out to work when they were 16 and I challenged them. I said ‘Do you really want to wake up at 3 a.m., bust your butt all day and come home at 11 p.m. at night? Never see your family? Never coach your kid’s baseball team?” Gomez said.